Shoot the Messenger
by NobleBrokenBeauty
Summary: After two months of peace, relax, and good sleeps, the five DHIs are back with a new mission: find the Heart of Fate before the new Overtakers do. But their plans aren't turning out so well when their only help will tell them nothing...
1. Back

**A/N: This is my newest story and I hope everyone likes it! I don't own anything of the Kingdom Keepers, only the OC. Please review and tell me what you thought. Thank you!**

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For two months they had slept in peace, returned to their somewhat normal lives, and only talked to each other on VMK; rarely in person. But as Finn Whitman looked around at his surroundings, he knew exactly where he was and how he got there, even though minutes before he had fallen asleep in his bed. Finn smiled to himself.

He was back.

Finn started to walk towards the center of the park—the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. In the dim lights of the stars and the moon, Finn also saw the glowing blueish light of the other four DHIs. They were all looking around, wondering why it had been now that they had crossed over. With a sharp ring of bells, they were all about to find out.

"What did you say?" Charlene called out suddenly.

There was a pause. "No one said anything," Finn replied, looking around carefully.

"Someone said, 'over here,'" she insisted.

"The only thing I heard were bells," Maybeck stepped closer, looking doubtful. The bells rang out again and Charlene giggled.

"Where is that coming from?" Philby sounded utterly confused. He wasn't a person to not know things.

"I know what that is!" Willa suddenly said excitedly. All of their glowing heads turned towards her in anticipation.

"It's Tinker Bell."

An unfamiliar sigh was emitted. Finn desperately tried to locate the sigh.

"Nice guess. Normally people never figure it out. But you five are different than normal people, aren't you?" A voice Finn could not rightly place in his mind spoke up. The voice was one of a girl's and had a slight Southern accent. But why was she here, how did she get here, and where exactly was she? The bells rang out again.

"It's no use, Tink, only one of them can hear you. Again, we're over here. Towards Tomorrowland?" the girl offered and everyone immediately turned that way. Finn noticed then that her soft, innocent voice never changed its tone or volume.

The girl was there, leaning against the rope that closed off Tomorrowland. There were several things that struck Finn odd about this girl. One, the miniature Tinker Bell was balanced gracefully on her shoulder, whispering into the girl's ear. Two, she had at least six inches of silver bangles hanging on each arm, a silver streak about three inches wide in her dirty blonde hair, and a large heart necklace hung around her neck. But third, and most of all:

She was a hologram too.

The girl however, looked more like just an image than a human, unlike the five DHIs. She looked electronic and flickered every once and a while.

"Who are you?" Maybeck asked the question that was running through all of their minds. The girl merely shook her head.

"You'll learn my name in due time. It isn't important right now. What _is_ important is your next mission. More Overtakers are threatening the park. Three of them."

"And, of course, we're the only ones that can do anything about it, right?" Finn quipped sarcastically.

"Right." The girl either didn't notice Finn's sarcasm or she had ignored it.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Charlene asked bitterly. An explosion of bells erupted from Tink and Charlene, surprised, took several steps away. The girl had not changed her innocent, sweet expression.

"I can't force you to trust me. Wayne sent me here, if that helps. Tinker Bell is my friend, if that helps. And I'm here to help you."

Her pure, unchanging tone began to change their minds a bit. They wanted to know more.

"Okay, then," Finn spoke for the group, after silence had settled upon them for a few moments. "What do we have to do?"

The girl smiled. Her job was done. Immediately, she continued to tell them what was threatening the beloved Disney realm.

"What the Overtakers seek is something that cannot be found anywhere else, something Walt hid in his own stories for their protection. The Heart of Fate, which has been split up and protected by the Eight Princesses of Heart. The Overtakers want to connect these hearts to control the fate of the world." She paused, looking at each one of their reactions. Charlene and Maybeck both looked slightly doubtful, but extremely intrigued. Willa and Philby both had their eyebrows knitted, trying to figure out the logic in the story. Finn sat there, not really sure _what _to think. The nameless girl pursed her lips, forming a tight grin, and continued.

"Since Walt has died, the Imagineers placed the Eight Pieces of the Heart into something that related to each Princess."

She briefly grasped the large heart on her necklace, but quickly let go and began again.

"You have to find them. Tomorrow, meet me right here and we'll begin."

"And you're not going to tell us anything until then, are you?" Finn asked, again being sarcastic. The girl merely shook her head, again ignoring or not realizing his sarcasm.

"I will tell you one thing. Remember the moon."

Her grey eyes flashed and her head turned to the half moon in the sky as she pulled the button to send them back out of her pocket.

"See you tomorrow."

Finn awoke in his bed and shot his gaze towards the window. There, high in the dark navy blue sky was perched a silvery half moon. Tomorrow night.

He would be there.

Looking towards his clock, he saw that it was still early in the morning. Not wanting to cross back over, Finn crept out of bed and onto his computer. Turning it on, he let the white light burn into his eyes. He thought back to the girl who had told them everything. The only thing Finn was unsure about was the girl herself. She had not even told them her name or anything about herself, only to claim that she was helping them. It sort of reminded him of Amanda…

But everything was reminding him of Amanda these days. She had returned to school a week after Maleficent had been captured along with her twin, now known as Jess, not Jez anymore. Amanda seemed more normal, happier… herself. And Finn was beginning to like that more and more.

He wanted to talk to the other DHIs and listen to what they had thought. He mindlessly logged onto VMK, not realizing that it was supposed to be closed right now. Half asleep, he did not notice when he easily appeared in his own room and smiled when everyone was already there.

**philitup****: did anyone else notice that VMK closes at ten?**

**Angelface**** 13:**** but we all ****logged**** in just fine.**

Finn's mind awoke. VMK _was_ supposed to be closed now…

**Finn: something's different**

**willatree****: something's different**

**mybest****: something's different**

Finn stared at the screen. He, Maybeck, and Willa had all responded the exact same thing at the exact same time.

**Angelface**** 13****: maybe it has something to wit****h that girl**

Charlene didn't need to explain anymore than just that. The screen flickered and froze and Finn had to wait a few extra seconds to get his response in.

**mybest****: you got that right. ****that**** girl seemed off to me**

**philitup****: she wouldn't tell us anything about herself, only tried to make us believe that she was on our side**

**willatree****: she was just trying to help though. ****i'm**** going back tomorrow**

**Finn: she seemed so mysterious. ****but ****i'm**** going back tomorrow too**

**Angelface**** 13: you sure have a thing for mysterious girls, don't you Finn?**

Finn glared at the screen.

**Finn: what is that supposed to mean?**

Charlene never had the chance to answer, even though Finn knew perfectly well what it meant. The screen flashed a bright white, burning Finn's eyes so that he was momentarily blinded. Blinking, Finn read the message that had appeared on the screen:

_VMK is now closing at this time. It will reopen at 7:00._

Finn furrowed his eyebrows. Had someone hacked into VMK… just for them? Only the next night would tell.

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A/N: Please review!


	2. A Broken Promise

**A/N: I forgot to mention last chapter that I don't completely own the idea of the Eight Princesses of Heart. The Seven Princesses of Heart belong to Kingdom Hearts and that is where I got the idea from. I also don't own Kingdom Keepers, only my OC. Thank you to PixieGirl13 for reviewing!**

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"Hey," Amanda appeared beside Finn's locker, alone.

"Hey," Finn replied, closing his locker door. "Where's Jess?"

Amanda never left Jess's side nowadays, evidently afraid of losing her again. But Finn was still wondering about last night to have much more on his mind than his friend's long lost sister, even if that same sister had tried to kill him several times before.

Snapping him back to reality, Amanda replied to his earlier question. "Jess was feeling sick this morning, so she isn't going to be here--"

"Yes, I am!" a voice yelled from across the hallway. Finn and Amanda immediately swung their heads around and located the voice. Running up to them, Jess looked pale, worn out, but seriously desperate for something. Her backpack was haphazardly slung over her shoulder and she doubled over, straining to catch her breath in front of Finn and Amanda. As the two of them leaned over to help Jess back up, she popped up without a hand.

"Finn, I need to talk to you. Alone."

Without consent, Finn was dragged by Jess tugging his arm away to an unoccupied corner. He was helpless otherwise to Jess's astonishing strength. She turned him to face her. They were only inches away from each other.

"Listen, Finn, you can't go tonight." Her tone was dead set and serious. Finn looked at her in confusion, but wasn't going to ask how she knew.

"Why not? I promised. Everyone else has, too," Finn began earnestly, but Jess shook her head.

"They un-promised to me this morning." She waved a small slip of paper in his face. Catching a glimpse at the paper, he saw in Amanda's handwriting the four other DHI usernames for VMK.

"_You're_ the one that opened VMK last night for us, aren't you?" Realization hit Finn hard. There was no response, not even a blink from Jess. She seemed frozen. Her eyes, Finn noticed, seemed suddenly duller and red. Her hair seemed darker and mussed. Knowing Jess wasn't going to give up and one day wasn't going to hurt them, especially if no one else was going to be there, Finn sighed in surrender.

"Fine."

Snapping out of the frozen trance, Jess smiled gratefully.

"Thank you!" she called over her shoulder as she weaved her way to her first class. Finn trudged his way back to his locker, where Amanda was patiently still waiting for him.

"What was that about?" Amanda asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Tonight. I'm not going."

Amanda's jaw hit the ground. She knew immediately what he was talking about. "You went _back_? When?"

"Last night. We were all there, but I still don't know much and now I promised I wouldn't go tonight either." Finn buried his face in one hand. Why had he promised such a stupid thing? The world could be at stake.

"Why?" Amanda's flurry of questions was never ending. What happened to her knowing everything and him being the one asking all the questions?

Finn paused. Jess hadn't exactly told him why, just forced him into agreeing with her. He shrugged in reply as the bell rang.

"Saved by the bell," Amanda smirked. "I'll talk to you later. I'll get some answers out of you; you and I both know I will." Finn watched Amanda disappear down the hall. An image of Charlene's words popped into his mind.

_You sure have a thing for mysterious girls, don't you, Finn?_

This was going to be a very long day.

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**9:51 PM**

His alarm clock burned the red numbers into his eyes as he looked for the billionth time to check what time it was. Only four minutes had passed since the last time he had checked. He flopped down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. He felt very tired on his soft bed. His green eyes were beginning to slowly close…

He heard a scream.

Rapidly opening and blinking his eyes, Finn sat up. Everything was silent. Carefully Finn sat back on his pillows and closed his eyes again.

Shrieks filled his ears. A girl's shrieks.

"No! No, please! Let me go!"

He desperately opened his eyes again and the noise froze. What was going on?

Now he was more worried than ever. Finn squeezed his eyes shut so hard that bursts of light patterns swam before him. The noise…

…was gone. The only thing he heard was the tinny ringing of something on a concrete ground. Finn no longer cared what Jess had said or what he had promised, even though she had seemed so desperate and serious. He buried himself under his covers and closed his eyes. But with the adrenalin pumping through his veins, it was not until near midnight that he actually fell asleep. And what he saw was something he wasn't expecting.

The other four DHIs stood in a small huddle with Charlene in the middle. The small Tinkerbell was on her shoulder, whispering into her ear. Finn ran up to them anxiously, wondering what was going on and what had happened. They all turned to him as they heard his footsteps approaching.

"It took you long enough!" Philby said, laughing and trying to lighten the mood, but Finn could feel the tension in the air. Willa held something silvery in her closed fist.

"Finn, something is _wrong_," Willa opened her fist to reveal a silver bracelet—not unlike the one the unnamed girl was wearing the night before. But if Tinkerbell was here, wouldn't she be?

"What?" Finn asked, confused at the grave look in everyone's eyes.

Tinkerbell burst out ringing and the way Charlene's face twisted, he was happy he couldn't understand her.

This had something to do with the girl. Suddenly everything clicked: the bracelet, the screams, the solitary Tinkerbell…

"Finn…" Charlene motioned to Tinkerbell, who rang softer as a sign of sorrow. "She's gone."

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A/N: Uh-oh! Not good at all! Please review!


	3. The Kidnapper's Price

**A/N: I'm so sorry about the hugely long wait; writer's block is pure evil. But it's finished now, and I hope everyone likes it. The brilliant Ridley Pearson owns The Kingdom Keepers, not me.**

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Finn stared in astonishment for a few moments. He could not even hear the soft music playing in the background. Everything was dead and silent.

"Who's gone?" he asked softly, not wanting to believe it.

"You know who it is, Finn," Charlene replied stonily. Finn cast his gaze downward.

"Did you hear the screams, too?" Finn raised his head to see his friends all nod. Tinker Bell rang out, crying now. Her rings shuddered and Charlene translated.

"She says it was four Overtakers; only Overtakers would do this sort of thing. She only recognized one. Captain Hook. The other three weren't familiar, but one of them looked a lot younger than the rest."

Finn was stumped. They had just seen the girl! And nothing too horrible had happened before… Were the Overtakers really gaining power that quickly?

"How are we going to find her?" Finn asked, knowing they could get nowhere without the girl's information. Tinker Bell raised her head and began to ring. Quickly, Charlene began to interpret the chimes.

"She says she's been hidden somewhere in the park, but someplace unknown to everyone else. She told Tink to leave before she could find out where they were taking her; otherwise the Overtakers would have…" Charlene trailed off, gazing with fear-stricken eyes at Tinker Bell.

"They wouldn't do _that_, would they?" she said, eyes still wide and voice quiet in a panicked whisper. Finn heard a single soft bell chime in return and knew immediately he didn't want that translated.

Charlene continued to talk quietly with Tink. "Did she live in the park?" Two short rings were heard in return.

"Wow," Charlene's eyes shone bright with awe, but after Tinker Bell chimed again, the gleam faded.

"We need someone who knows the park like the back of their hand—the undergrounds, too," Charlene began suddenly, looking directly at Finn.

Finn was confused at first. "But wha—" Realization hit him hard and his face lit up.

"Of course," he said assuredly.

"We haven't any more need to be here, then," Philby handed Finn the button from his back pocket.

"Tomorrow at eight?" Finn asked for certainty.

"Tomorrow at eight," the four echoed.

"Keep safe and hidden, Tinker Bell," Charlene called as Finn pressed the red button down hard.

He knew he needed Jess and Amanda.

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"We need to talk!"

Finn pulled the twin girls over in the in hallway. Each looked at him slightly annoyed.

"Listen," he said in a low voice, "we need your help tonight."

The girls did two completely different things. Amanda's face brightened and she nodded eagerly. Jess, on the other hand, paled and didn't respond.

"Our only help disappeared last night. She was kidnapped by four Overtakers. All we know is that one of them as Captain Hook," Finn explained, trying to persuade Jess to come along. He needed both of them there! She merely paled even more.

"Who is she?" Jess asked softly. Finn plainly shrugged.

"We don't know her name, but she was sent by Wayne, was with Tinker Bell, and was a hologram, too. We've got to find her if we want to get anywhere in the finding the – you know what?" Finn paused, looking each girl directly in the eye. "If you're there tonight, I'll tell you."

Amanda placed a strong hand on Jess' shoulder and shook it gently. "We'll be there," Amanda spoke for both of them and led Jess off in the other direction.

Amanda turned her head suddenly. "What time?" she mouthed.

"Eight." Finn knew this was going to take a lot of work, getting the girls to stay there without being caught by security guards or tripping any alarms.

"Amanda! Wait!" Finn called out, an idea hitting him. Amanda swiftly turned her head around. Finn caught up to her, and repeated his idea.

"Stay with Wayne. He lives above the fire station. That way, you and Jess don't have to hide anywhere in the park."

Amanda smiled gratefully.

"Okay. I'll see you tonight, then." She waved and disappeared into the swarm of kids, milling around, not wanting to go to their next classes.

Finn checked his watch. Only twelve hours to go until they figured out what happened to the girl. Or they would find out they hadn't done so in time…

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It was time.

His clock blinked 7:48. Putting on his boots, coat, and jeans, he climbed into bed. Walking by, his mother understood.

He had told her everything, and finally she had believed him. After so much persuasion, after so many odd happenings, and after so many secrets, it felt so good to get everything off his chest.

He closed his green eyes and breathed deeply. They would soon find out what happened to their nameless helper. All he needed was sleep…

Blinking, Finn found himself in the middle of the park, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. Night was creeping upon them. That was the shadow they needed. Finn gazed towards the fire station where Amanda and Jess were supposed to be staying. The light was on.

Finn weaved his way up to the second story and knocked on the door. Jess opened it, looking even paler than before.

"Wayne isn't here; he left us a note. But when everyone else arrives, we'll be ready," Jess said quietly as he entered.

Looking a little disappointed, Finn gazed around the room and saw Amanda sitting by the window. She turned to face him with newfound willpower and enthusiasm gleaming in her eyes. Amanda looked suddenly so different than the stern and secretive girl he once knew.

"So, are you going to tell us what they want?" she asked eagerly. Finn grinned slightly and nodded.

"Right. What the Overtakers are looking for is something called the Heart of Fate, protected by the Eight Princesses of Heart. The Imagineers protected the Heart by putting eight pieces into something relating to each princess protector. We need to find whatever it is and save that Heart – before the Overtakers do."

Amanda nodded and looked back out the window. Jess' eyes were glazed over and she looked slightly bored, but suddenly looked directly at Finn.

"Did you say the _Eight_ Princesses of the Heart?" she questioned, sounding confused and interested.

Finn nodded. "Yeah, that's what she told us."

"Why does that sound…"

"They're here!" Amanda suddenly said, cutting off her sister. Jess made no attempt to continue her sentence, and merely followed Amanda out the door to meet the four other DHIs huddled in the dark. Tinker Bell was already there, trying to pull Charlene away from the group.

Willa turned to him, her dark eyes filled with elation. "Finn, I think she's safe!"

Finn's eyes widened and she ran over to Finn, shoving a piece of paper in his face. On it was scrawled a little note.

_**D**__ear w__**h**__oever f__**i**__nds __thi__**s,**_

_**Look**__ around you. __**A**__re you safe? Don'__**t**__ be so sure. __**The**__ Heart __**cast**__s a spel__**l**__ over all wh__**e**__n __**t**__aken __**o**__ver by the enemy force. __**P**__lea__**s**__e, don't look for me. T__**h**__e je__**o**__pardy __**w**__ould surprise you. __**B**__elieve in you__**r**__selves, though,__** a**__nd don't give up. __**C**__hanc__**e**__s are __**l**__ight will shin__**e**__**t**__hrough. _

_S_

Finn's face fell. "I thought you said this was good news."

Willa rolled her eyes and said, "Look closer."

Finn looked back at the message with Jess and Amanda reading over his shoulders. A few of the letters had been drawn over twice. Was this what Willa was talking about?

"Oh my gosh, I get it!" Amanda yelped, snatching the note out of Finn's hand. "Look!" Using her magic to conjure a pen out of nowhere, she wrote down the bolded letters.

**Dhis**

**Look At The castle top. Show bracelet.**

All seven of their heads immediately turned towards Cinderella Castle. Tinker Bell began to chime louder and louder, finally getting fed up enough to go up to the top herself.

"Wait!" Willa called and pulled the silver bracelet out of her pocket. It flashed twice in the moonlight and suddenly, something moved up at the top of the castle. Tinker Bell zipped her way up there.

And before they knew it, the ground opened beneath them and they were sent into spiraling darkness.

* * *

"It took you long enough," a voice echoed through their minds. A voice Finn knew.

Finn opened his eyes and found himself lying on the carpet of a small, entirely silver and red room. A small cot lay in the corner, a wardrobe on the other side, and stacks of books lining every other unoccupied spot.

"I thought I left the message pretty well, no?" The girl who had just been kidnapped was helping everyone to their feet. She stopped in front of Finn.

"Where are we?" Finn asked, accepting the girl's hand. He noticed it didn't seem like so much of an image any more, but real – human.

"You are in somewhere I haven't seen in forever. But it's where I have to stay now…" the girl trailed off. Her voice was as Finn remembered it – light, blithe, but never changing.

"What happened to you, two nights ago?" Philby asked, trying to find a comfortable place to stand. There was almost no space in the apartment-like room for all eight of them. The girl almost laughed.

Almost.

"You don't even want to know who I am. Getting right down to business, I see? But let's find somewhere else to stay. It seems a bit tight in here."

She took the bracelet back from Willa and pressed it into an imprint in the door handle. The spiraling darkness came again, but this time was gentler. They landed in the middle of the square where the Mickey and Walt statue was located.

"So what do you want to know?" the girl asked as soon as everyone had arrived back on the ground. Tinker Bell sat on top of her head, glowing brightly, and happily chiming away.

"What happened to you?" Philby repeated first, before anyone else could get a question out.

The girl sighed and began. "I was waiting for you five. But someone came up behind me and grabbed me. I told Tink to leave because I knew they didn't need her and if she stayed…" the girl trailed off, eyes slightly larger than normal. "They took me away, but I escaped somehow in all of the confusion and went up to someplace no else endangering me knew of and a place only three people could easily get into without anyone else's help. They ran off and I haven't seen those Overtakers since."

"What do you know about the Eight Princesses of the Heart?" Amanda piped up.

The girl opened her mouth to reply, but closed it quickly. She turned, slightly looking confused, to where Amanda sat. She didn't recognize Amanda…

"Who are you?" the girl got up and walked over to where Amanda was sitting next to Finn. The girl looked threatening without even raising her voice or changing her facial expression.

"I – I'm Finn's friend. He told my sister and me to come and help find you." Amanda's gaze travelled to Jess and the girl followed that gaze. Anger seemed to radiate off of her. Calmly and slowly, the girl walked up to Jess. Jess' eyes slightly widened, but she didn't seem intimidated in the least. Staring her in the eye for a brief second, the girl walked past Jess, giving her a sharp cold shoulder.

Everyone stared after the girl who had so suddenly transformed from sweet and helpful to bitter and unresponsive.

"What was that?" Charlene asked, just as perplexed as everyone else. "Why was she suddenly so mean like that?

"Because," Jess admitted, hanging her head slowly, "I was the one who kidnapped her."

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A/N: Has Jess returned to the dark side? We'll see in the next chapter… Please review!


	4. Second Thoughts

**A/N: Again, sorry about the long wait, but I finished this chapter in about three days total. I don't own anything, Mr. Ridley Pearson does, and I hope you enjoy!**

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"What?" Amanda screeched, jumping up. "But I thought you were okay – that Finn broke the spell! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

Jess bit her lip and looked down at the ground, placing a hand on the shoulder the girl had just bumped into.

The footsteps of the girl still echoed away, growing fainter and fainter. They could still see Tink on her shoulder and her chimes were blunt and angry. Jess ran a hand through her sandy blonde hair and sighed.

"I know!" she whimpered. "I thought that too! But before I knew it, I was back here. That's why I told you not to come, Finn. I was supposed to take all of you. I resisted the hardest I could and made sure she had a chance to escape. Thank god she did…"

Everything was silent. They sat in the center of the park, not knowing what they could do next. Their help didn't trust them anymore. They couldn't get anywhere without get and then… Finn didn't want to think about what would happen.

"I'll go. You don't need me here, and I'm just restricting your job." Jess hastened to leave, but Amanda caught her arm.

"No! You've got to stay now," she pleaded. Finn looked from the scared face of Amanda to Jess' face, which looked anxious and unsure of what she had done.

"Because she knows too much already," Charlene hissed from the ground, making them all jump. "We can't trust you to go telling all your Overtaker friends. It's all or nothing now… for all of us."

Jess looked hurt. "It's not my fault. The spell still had its last hold over me, and I know it's gone now. I could feel something inside me before, but I didn't know what it was. Please… you've got to trust me. I can help."

Finn felt all eyes on him. He sighed. He knew those two girls knew more about the park than the five of them put together did and if he sent away Jess, Amanda would leave too.

_And you don't want that to happen, do you? _The voice inside his head snickered. Finn shook it away in annoyance.

"She's staying. That's final."

Amanda sighed in relief, thanking Finn with her eyes. Jess hesitated, but made her way back to the statue. She perched herself on the concrete pedestal and crossed her arms tightly as to protect herself. Her gaze darted around and she still looked jumpy.

"But…" Finn said, making both Jess and Amanda tense up again, "Jess, you've got to get that girl back. Without her, this whole thing is hopeless."

Jess nodded. "I know. I know…"

* * *

"Hey, is anyone here?" Jess walked under the Cinderella Castle archway. The cool air whipped across her skin and she could feel the presence of another person close by. "I promise I'm not here to hurt you. We need your help if we're going to save this place from the Overtakers again."

The archway stayed silent, but Jess could see Tinker Bell's light glowing near her. Jess balled her hands into fists, getting desperate. This would be all her fault if the girl had disappeared for good. It seemed like it wouldn't do much anyways. They didn't know anything about what they were supposed to be looking for except its name and who protected it. They didn't even know their own help's name!

But Jess knew there was something off about this girl. She wasn't the same as the rest and there was a reason she was avoiding their questions.

"You know you want to help us," Jess continued eagerly, stepping silently closer to the light. "You know you have to help us. Otherwise… the Hearts have something to do with this, no? Each Princess will be taken away first – along with their Princes."

Angry ringing echoed all along the hallway and the girl burst out of her hiding spot – a concealed door at the very end of the corridor, covered with the same mosaics that the rest of the hallway was decorated in. Her face was eerily emotionless and she strode up to Jess with purpose, a bright red Tinker Bell fluttering next to her.

"I'm in." Her gentle voice surprised Jess. "What do you want to know about the Heart of Fate and its protectors?"

Jess smirked. Her job was done.

* * *

"As I said before, there are _eight_ Princesses who protect the Heart of Fate," the girl was explaining to Jess almost irritably, along with everyone else who was listening. Jess was heatedly arguing back.

"I'm telling you, it's seven! I've heard it somewhere, I just don't remember where! There was Belle, Cinderella, Alice –"

"We'll get to that later," the girl cut in, her voice still the polite tone it always was, but commanded so much power.

"Why can't you just tell us now?" Maybeck snapped, sitting low on the bench. The girl turned her attention now to Maybeck and sighed deeply.

"Because… I just can't, okay? I've got my own job to do and I've got my own orders to follow. Let me just continue without interruption," she said swiftly. Maybeck looked upset, but did not respond.

"As I was saying, each Princess protects a part of the Heart in an object or trinket relating to them. They are hidden in the park and each night I call you… _seven_ here," she looked at Jess and Amanda with a slight disdain, "you must find at least one of the trinkets. Without them, the Overtakers with find the pieces of the Heart first and try to take over the Disney realm again. We don't have any time to lose."

"Then why have we waited so long just to learn about this?" Willa asked, genuinely curious.

"I have my reasons," the girl sighed. "I just… I just…" She trailed off weakly, clutching the side of her head. Her breathing grew rapid and pained. Tinker Bell rang quietly in her other ear to soothe her while everyone else watched in shock. Finn leapt up and ran towards her, but as he reached out a hand to help her, she jerked suddenly away.

"No," she gasped out, voice filled with the most emotion he had ever heard in her voice. "Don't. I'm fine… just these headaches I get… the full moon sort of makes them worse." She pulled her fingers gingerly through the silver streak in her hair. She closed her grey eyes for a brief second and shot them open again. Tinker Bell rang once in her ear and she half-smiled.

Charlene looked suddenly surprised – Finn had forgotten she too could hear what Tinker Bell was saying. Before Charlene could question whatever Tink had said, the girl shot a warning glare in her direction.

_They were not supposed to know_.

The girl grasped her necklace and relaxed, any pain in her eyes disappearing. Tinker Bell rang softly and looked up at the sky sadly.

"Tomorrow," the girl said, her voice back to normal: plain and never changing. "Tomorrow we'll start."

This caused a huge uproar she had not been expecting. Tinker Bell flew off her shoulder and soared in front of her face in protection. The girl merely stood there and listened to their complaints.

"What happened to our 'limited time'?"

"The Overtakers are going to _kill us_ before we start!"

"Let's just start now so we'll be ahead of the game!"

"You just don't want us to succeed, do you? You're going to let the Disney Kingdom crash and burn and you'll be happy about it!"

Jess' complaint stopped everything. The girl, for the second time that night, strode up to Jess and looked her straight in the eye.

"I'm beginning to have second thoughts about you, I really I am. I do care so much about this world like you would never imagine. I'm a part of it and I am not going to let it die. Shouldn't you and your sister be getting home? I can't send you there," she said simply.

The girl turned away again and whipped out the red button to send them back home.

"I'll see everyone here tomorrow at nine. We'll start then, no questions asked," she said, looking around blithely to ensure no protests were made. Her hand twisted to click the button.

"Wait!" Finn cried, stopping her hand in mid-action. "What's your name? We at least need to know that," he reasoned, looking around him for support.

The girl grinned and ran her tongue along the bottom of her teeth. "You wanna know my name? It's Silver," she tugged on the bracelets and ran a hand through the streak in her hair, grin lingering on her face. "Just call me Silver."

Her finger fell on the button and Finn found himself back in his bed. Eyes still closed, Finn heard Tink chimed and Silver's voice ever so faintly say, "I know, Tink. I miss him, too."

* * *

**A/N: Miss who? And we finally learn this girl's name… Silver, isn't it fitting? Please review!**


	5. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

"Silver… can you really believe we didn't guess that?" Jess laughed cynically, gathering her books from her locker. Amanda and Finn stood beside her and had listened to her that entire morning only hearing about one thing –

Silver.

Jess was still riled about the way she had been treated last night. This morning she had been going on and on about how there were seven, not eight Princesses, about how she seemed she wouldn't do anything for them, and about everything else she could nit-pick about that girl. Finn didn't see what was so wrong with her.

"I honestly don't think that's her real name. Who in their right mind would name their child Silver?" Jess began to rant pointlessly, diving deeper into the girl's faults.

"Well, I don't know, Jess," Amanda fell into step with her, Finn still to catch up, "but I do think you're right about her name. It's not that Silver isn't a good name; she just seemed to be a little too happy about telling us it. Like it was her codename or something. You know who might be able to tell us? Charlene…"

Finn looked at the two with incredulity. "Listen to yourselves!" he interrupted. "She's only trying to help us and you two are doing a great job of getting in her way and making her angry. All we want to do is save the parks again – even if we don't like her, we've still got to complete this."

Amanda and Jess looked at each other, and then at Finn pityingly. "Finn…" Jess said, smiling slyly in way Finn knew was no good. "You just do things your way, and we'll go along ours." She gave a sharp jerk of her arm and in her hand appeared a bright blue cell phone. "Don't worry. Girls just want to have fun." She patted him on the shoulder gently, smile still lingering, and turned away.

He watched the two leave and groaned. It was then that he realized he should have never let them stay.

* * *

"Finn! Hey, Finn!" a voice called to him in the cafeteria. Amanda waved him over to her table and sat him down in front of her.

"We found something on the Princesses of Heart. There _are_ seven, just like Jess thought. She has a list…" Amanda looked around for Jess. "But I don't know where she is. The Princesses were from this video game Disney and some other company sold a few years back… Heart of Kings, I think?"

"No… it's Kingdom Hearts…" Finn said, remembering playing that game only once. He had never finished it.

"Right!" Amanda said, smiling. "So you've heard of it?"

Finn nodded lazily, letting Amanda continue.

"We've already figured out those seven. Cinderella, Belle, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White, and Kairi, one of the new characters in that story. Tonight, Silver will be happy that we've gotten so ahead of everything."

Finn stared back blankly. Somehow he knew that Amanda's words weren't entirely true. "But how will the DHIs feel? I mean, this _is_ our mission, and you two… are kind of taking it over. It's not that I don't appreciate it!" Finn raised his hands in defense when Amanda shot him a reprimanding look. "But you need to give it some time… maybe you're doing this all wrong."

Amanda grinned and shook her head. "Please, Finn, we know what we're doing."

"Of course we do!" a voice trilled behind Finn. Jess walked up to them and snapped her cell phone shut.

"Charlene thinks it's a good idea," she said, putting her hands down on the table. "She also told me what Tinker Bell said last night to Silver. She said that Tink said, 'They're not ready. They need more time,' and that was why Silver is waiting until tonight to start us. She thinks we're not prepared enough. She's treating us like little kids."

Finn sat back and sighed. He knew not to get back into this argument.

"Well, that's all fixed now. Tonight we'll be there early, at Wayne's apartment above the fire station," Jess said to Finn, who simply nodded, "and we'll show Silver we're more than responsible to take this on."

"It's gonna be perfect."

Finn buried his head in his arms on the table. They were ruining it.

"Hey, Finn!" another voice called his name – this time, finally, a boy's voice. Finn looked up, desperate for any form of escape. Dillard was waving to him, walking away from the lunch line.

"Thank you," Finn whispered to himself, and got up to meet Dillard.

"Bye, Jess, Amanda!" Finn said hastily. "See you tonight!"

He would make sure the rest of his afternoon was girl-free.

* * *

"Hey, Dill… you play video games, don't you?" Finn asked his friend, settling themselves at their regular lunch table. Dillard looked at Finn oddly, but nodded.

"Yeah… why?" He munched into a tall sandwich, looking at Finn curiously.

"Well, have you ever played the game Kingdom Hearts? It's that Disney one with the Final Fantasy characters too?" Finn asked. Dillard swallowed and nodded.

"I've played the first one all the way through."

"What importance do the Seven Princesses of Heart hold?" Finn prompted. Dillard shot Finn another odd look, but explained the Princesses.

"Their hearts are the purest – they are the key _to_ Kingdom Hearts, which holds power from all the worlds. Why are you asking me this?"

Finn sighed, gathering his stuff for the next class. "No reason… just wondering…"

_The Heart of Fate holds all power of Fate within the Disney realm, Finn, and when they get too powerful, they will come into this world to take control. Stop deepening the wound. You'll learn full well how to fix everything tonight._

Finn shot open his eyes. Silver had been speaking to him… which meant she knew. He just needed to clear his mind. Hopefully everything would make sense tonight.

_You wish._

* * *

"Finn, long time no see," the old man opened the apartment door smiling. Finn's face lit up.

"Wayne!"

"I thought you'd remember me. Like last night, your friends are already here," Wayne's blue eyes sparked. As Finn passed through the doorway, Wayne muttered softly in his ear.

"She's not going to want them here."

Jerking his head up towards Wayne again, the man looked grim. "They're not supposed to be here. We had their help when it was only necessary, but now they're going too far. Hasn't she told you that?"

Finn stayed silent, looking out the window. "Silver, you mean?"

Wayne looked puzzled for a brief moment, but nodded. "She's serious about this; I'm sure you don't know how dedicated she is."

"She stopped talking to us last night when Amanda and Jess came along. I had to send Jess after her before she left. But I realized that they weren't supposed to come this morning when they began to do everything in advance."

Wayne clicked his tongue slowly. "They may be a help or hindrance – you won't know until you start working."

Finn watched Jess and Amanda leap out of their chairs to greet him and get started tonight. Finn gave them a small smile. Right now, they needed all the help they could get.

* * *

One by one, they all appeared in the center of the park, and one by one, they all learned of Jess and Amanda's plans. Finn, having already heard them, waited for Silver to show up, possibly appearing from the tiny room at the very top of the Cinderella Castle with Tinker Bell. Something told him neither of them was going to be happy with the twins.

"Tonight we'll go after Alice and Jasmine, since they both have relatively simple rides and we'll be able to find whatever part of the Heart they are protecting easily," Amanda explained to Philby, who was the last DHI to arrive.

To Finn, everyone else looked pretty upset. Charlene sat perched on the bench with her feet and an annoyed look in her eye, taking to Willa. She was sitting cross-legged on the concrete barrier behind the bench looking angrily curious. Maybeck and Philby were only half listening to Amanda's instruction outside the center circle.

Finn still waited for the flash at the top of the castle. He hoped Silver would be stubborn again and not allow Amanda and Jess to go through with their plan, which was "sure to work."

"Everyone ready?" Silver's voice was heard across the grounds. "You all seem so down."

She appeared from Fantasyland, with Tinker Bell riding on her left shoulder chiming quickly and joyfully. Charlene snorted sarcastically at Silver's words.

"No, we're ready to go when you are," Jess said loudly. "We've got everything planned for tonight. Alice and Jasmine."

Silver's eyebrows rose slightly. Her voice calm and never changing, she said, "Jasmine and _Alice_? I told you last night we'll only need to do one per –"

Her voice was overpowered by Amanda's. "If we find two, we'll be ahead. You don't need to worry about us, Silver! We can get this done before the Overtakers even realize what we're doing."

"But Amanda –" Silver tried again.

"Come on, Silver. You can trust us to lead." Jess and Amanda looked at her, waiting for an answer. Silver's slight, composed smile still dance on her face, but she shrugged.

"Fine, then you can do about it your way. It is your mission after all."

Finn looked at Silver with shock, but her face showed defeat. Finn grimaced and Silver shook her head ever so faintly.

_They'll learn, don't worry. They'll learn. _

* * *

They found nothing that night. They trudged back to the Walt and Mickey statue silent and flustered. Amanda and Jess didn't look upset in the least, finally saying, "Don't worry, we'll find three tomorrow."

Silver sighed, but said nothing, knowing her soft voice would only be drowned out again. She looked at each of the DHIs, communicating to them with her eyes. Each one gave a brief nod and looked at Finn. Silver's stare found him as well, awaiting his instruction. He was in charge.

"Tomorrow night, same time."

He turned to Jess and Amanda.

"We'll talk."

Finn glanced back at the entire group, catching Silver's eye yet again and not unlocking the gaze.

_So will we._

* * *

**A/N: Please review!**


	6. Math's Nightmare

**A/N: ****Yay****, a new chapter! Sorry for the, uh, two month wait and I can assure you the next chapter will come quicker. :) Please review!**

* * *

Finn awoke with a start and the first thing he felt was a burning shame eating away at his stomach. He had let her down. He was supposed to be the leader of the DHIs, not Jess and Amanda, who were only there because they had horned their way in. Blinking quickly, he suddenly felt someone had placed faltering headphones over his ears.

Every time he closed his eyes for a split second, someone talked. The sound shut off when he reopened his eyes.

Blinking slower, he heard Silver say quickly, "Just keep your eyes closed, Finn, I'm waiting on you." Finn jumped at the voice, but he did as instructed. She did say she was going to talk to him…

"You aren't going to like this, and neither do I, but…" Silver sighed, trailing off.

"What?" Finn heard himself reply, but he didn't move his lips. He was talking to her _inside his head_.

"Jess and Amanda need to stay." Silver's monotone had returned. Her gentle Southern accent rang in his mind. They _what_?

"You – you can't be serious," he managed to stutter.

"It's a part of… what I've been told. Now that they know what we are doing, they cannot leave. I just thought I'd tell you."

Finn sat quietly on his bed, willing himself to fall asleep again so he could talk to Silver face to face. She honestly couldn't be serious. There was no way, not after Jess and Amanda had taken over their mission, not after Jess had back-talked to her, not after they had completely failed their first night in the parks.

"You know I can hear everything you're thinking, right, Finn?" Silver said, jerking him out of his thoughts. "There's… just remember, I have my reasons. And this is a very important reason, so please make sure they keep coming, okay?"

Finn sighed, but replied his consent.

Silver laughed ever so slightly. "You're quite the character, Finn Whitman."

Before he could ask what she meant by that, their connection was shut off and his eyes snapped open. His wandering mind and unanswered thoughts kept him awake until his unneeded alarm clock went off. Groggily, he stepped out of bed and began to get ready for today – and the night to come.

Nothing could get Finn's mind off of the night ahead of him. He didn't know what scared him more, the thought of failing again tonight or the thought that Amanda and Jess would ruin their job. Finn stayed blank and deep in thought the rest of the and no matter how hard he tried, his anxiety would not leave him, not even when Jess and Amanda dragged him off to an empty hallway and showed him a map of the Magic Kingdom and exactly what they were going to do.

And he couldn't stop them…

He hoped Silver's reason was _really_ important.

In his math class later that day, his teacher droned on about linear equations, but Finn was barely listening. His head was resting on his palm and the sleep deprivation from the night before was catching up with him. He blinked to clear the sleep once, twice…

Finn found himself in a dark, circular room bathed in purple light. Three figures sat at a long, elegant oval table, two yelling at each other. Squinting, Finn tried to see their faces, but had no luck. He heard them, though, loud and clear.

"That blasted girl is going to help them—!"

"She wouldn't. She knows what you hold on the line, Hook, and she wouldn't dare give that up."

"The girl seems to be right fine with it, prancing into that park and dallying in any way she can!"

"Maybe you should send word back home that she's gone and abandoned them all. It may be one decent thing you do for this plot."

"Why should I take orders from you? All the brats think she's run away! Except for…"

"Her heart and will are stronger than you expect, you underestimate her so. You are very wrong yet again."

"You pompous air—!"

"Enough."

Finn nearly fell in shock at this new voice. So deep, so resonating… so vile. The two other men – Hook and, of course, another Disney villain – silenced their argument instantly.

"I chose the two of you to accompany me because I thought you could assist the most. I see what a mistake that was."

The little of Hook's face that Finn could actually see grew ashen and silence increased.

"Now, sit."

Hook and the other sat.

"Lord Bogan, sire, I assure you I am fully capable of this task. Hook, on the other hand…"

"Bloody scoundrel! How dare you say something like that when you yourself—!"

"I said _silence!_ The girl is helping those DHIs. The two other witches are of no importance to us, now that Maleficent knows how to take advantage of their powers and cut them off. You failed to take the girl when you could. We lost that power that let us into the parks, and in a few days, we will have that power back. We will attack again."

Finn's breath caught in his throat as the men's meeting was suddenly adjourned. They stood, their eyes glowing white in the near-pitch darkness. Finn couldn't move. He couldn't talk. He couldn't scream. The Overtakers were closer, closing in on him until…

"_Mr. Whitman!_"

His teacher rapped the board three times with her yardstick, waking Finn. Startled, Finn toppled out of his chair, only to look up into his math teacher's beady black eyes.

"Are you feeling okay, Mr. Whitman?"

Finn opened his mouth to speak, but his stomach lurched uneasily.

"Home," he muttered weakly.

"Miss Lockhart, please escort Mr. Whitman to the nurse's office."

The one class he had with Amanda _had_ to be the one he had the dream in. And his teacher had to choose her. He tried to shove himself off the ground on his own, but could not manage it until Amanda helped him up.

"We'll talk on the way there," she muttered in his ear. Finn didn't protest. Amanda swung open the door and led him outside.

Finn felt so cold. He felt the icy seat beading his forehead and his hands shaking ever so slightly. He wouldn't have been surprised if his face was a sickly green.

"Did you cross over or was it a dream about the parks?" Amanda got straight to the point, walking slower.

Still feeling sick to him stomach, Finn only replied, "Overtakers."

Amanda's grip considerably tightened. "No way. Who was it?"

"Hook… and two other men. Couldn't tell if they were Disney. Going after Silver. Tonight."

They had reached the nurse's office, but Amanda seemed to not to have any intentions of opening the door.

"Finn, this is serious. What are you going to—?"

"Amanda, right now, all I need to do is go home and rest. I'll tell you everything tonight." Finn wrenched himself away from Amanda and pressed into the nurse's office, snatching up the phone to call his mother. In a few minutes he was home and away from any questions. His bed felt so comforting and without any effort at all, Finn fell asleep.

He found himself crossed over. There was nothing he could do about it. But, in a way, he was almost glad he was here. He wanted to tell Silver about his dream – whether or not it was real and whether or not she was in danger.

"Sil-silver?" he asked. She was nowhere in sight. "Hello?" Finn moved forward and heard a familiar rustle of metal bracelet. Finn looked behind several piles of books and, hidden by the last one, he saw her. Reaching out a hand, he tapped her on the shoulder.

Silver jumped, a shocked expression fleeting over her normally plain face, but it was as if it had never been there only moments later. "Wow, you're getting good," she said, standing. "Crossing over straight to me. What are you doing here early, Finn?"

Finn made his way over to the small cot, covered with a thick red quilt, and sat. He felt better than all day… and safer too. A gentle pressure rested on his head and he heard the soft ringing of Tinker Bell from above. Silver laughed faintly.

"She likes you. You're lucky. She absolutely detested me when we met." Silver sat next to him on the bed and stroked Tink's wing, sending a shower of ethereal sparkles onto Finn's shoulder. A warm feeling spread through his shoulder. Tinker Bell giggled and tried to say something to Finn, who looked to Silver to translate.

"She said that the pixie dust feels like nothing else in the world and that she knows you like it." Tinker Bell happily rang again. "And that she knows something else is going on. What's on your mind?"

Finn suddenly remembered why he had wanted to come here. Silver gathered Tinker Bell in her hands and placed her on her knee. Silver looked at Finn expectantly, waiting for him to begin.

"At school I had a dream… and I felt really sick. I asked to go home, I fell asleep… and here I am."

"A dream…?" Silver looked directly at Finn, her grey eyes flashing. "What kind of dream?"

"They're coming after you," Finn heard himself say. "They're coming after you tonight. But you must let them take over. We cannot prevail again. Disney is doomed."

Finn's vision blurred. His voice sounded distorted and out of the ordinary. A fire suddenly rose inside of him, making his breathing sharp and atypical. He toppled off the cot, onto his back, darkness overcoming his mind. What was happening…?

"Finn! Finn!" Silver's voice rose up against the haze taking over Finn's mind. "Finn, just listen to me. Think of Disney. Think of your friends, your family, the DHIs. Think of what you're working for and what you believe in. Don't give up!"

A bright flash of white light burst across Finn's eyelids and his eyes shot open. Silver was leaning over him worriedly, Tinker Bell only inches away from his nose. Relief flickered across Silver's eyes as she backed away, sighing. Finn heaved himself onto to cot again.

"One of his tricks," Silver whispered to Tinker Bell who rang in agreement. "Finn, I'm terribly sorry if this sounds rude, but I'm pleased you were here. If not… whatever the Overtakers had sent to find me – what just happened to you right now was meant for me – and it would have caught me by surprise. I would have been Overtaker bait within minutes and they could have used me to get the things they needed. So… thanks, Finn," she ended slightly lamely.

"Uh, then, you're welcome." He tried to smile, but Silver had already turned away, deep in thought again. "Have you got the button?" Finn asked loudly, feeling his welcome here had ended. Silver snapped back down to earth and snatched up the fob from the top of a pile of books.

"Be careful," she whispered before pressing it into his hand and turning away again. Finn nodded briefly and pressed the red button down hard. His eyes still closed and unbeknownst to Silver, he heard her crying after he left. Not just tears of stress: real, heart-wrenching, painful sobs.

Why had she tried to hide her feelings from him? Was this why she constantly could not tell them anything? Silver suddenly seemed more complicated than he had ever imagined.

Maybe she had some real worries about their mission. Finn knew deep down—this was going to be much harder than last time.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? I really want to know, anything good, bad, or in between. Please review!**


	7. Alice

**A/N: Sorry about the wait :) Anyways, it's here now, so enjoy! No owning of anything except Silver.**

* * *

"Can't we get _something_ done tonight?" were the first words he heard when crossing over from – whom else? – Charlene. She and Silver were talking, both perched on the fence next to Ariel's Grotto. Maybeck sat in the shell made for the actress playing Ariel in the parks the next day. Holding in a smirk, Finn ran to where they were. Neither Philby nor Willa had arrived yet.

"Feeling better, Finn?" Silver asked politely, hopping down from the fence.

"Are you?"

Silver looked like she had been slapped in the face. Finn realized with a jolt he had probably said the worst thing possible. She was not supposed to know he had heard her breakdown; he was not even supposed to know she had been crying.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Silver replied absentmindedly, but her ice cold stare told Finn anything but that. "And once everyone gets here – including Amanda and Jess – I think we'll all be feeling pretty good. Our 'treasure-hunting' starts tonight."

"Isn't that a surprise?" Charlene remarked dryly. Silver ignored her.

Maybeck leapt from the concrete shell and jogged up to Finn, turning him away from the girls.

"I heard about your dream, Finn. Creepy…" Maybeck muttered. Finn nodded mutely, unsure of exactly what to say.

"Hey… hey, when you asked Silver if she was feeling okay, what was that all about? It looked like you had just told her you were secretly an Overtaker or something."

Finn almost immediately felt her piercing glare on the back of his head and grimaced. Weighing his options, Finn decided whether or not Silver really wanted it to be known that she was scared. He determined that his own hide was worth saving for a little while more.

"I dunno. Maybe she wasn't expecting me asking her." The feeling like he was being watched suddenly disappeared.

"Let's begin."

Silver had spotted Philby and Willa appearing from the mist of the night.

"But where's Jess and Amanda?" Finn asked.

"And Tinker Bell?" Willa put in, looking around cautiously as well.

Silver sighed and began to walk slowly into Main Street, beckoning the other DHIs to follow.

"Tinker Bell is waiting for my signal." She didn't bother to explain what she meant by that. "But if you're all so interested in those two, I might as well let_ them_ tell you the plan," Silver breathed, but Finn stopped her.

"Wait, but we need _your_ help," he began. Silver stopped and listened with her back towards him, the DHIs watching their every move. "We… we know now that Amanda and Jess can't control this on their own – the past two night have been proof of that. They can't do anything and if we continue to let them lead us, we'll only be."

"Finn—" Silver interrupted, but a new voice overpowered them both.

"Thanks for your support, Finn," Amanda chided.

Maybeck hid a snicker behind his hand.

Oh, great. Just great. Was this why Silver had tried to interrupt? Probably. The DHIs turned to face a particularly angry looking Jess and Amanda.

"We only wanted to help," Jess snapped icily.

"And you will." Silver's signature Southern accent silenced the twins. She twisted her arm twice, making the bracelets clang against one another almost melodically. The light that was Tinker Bell instantly appeared and sped down to meet them. In a bright, colorful shower of pixie dust, Tink made her appearance. Willa giggled.

"Tink will go with you where ever you may think the pieces of the Heart have been hidden," Silver said to Jess, Amanda, and Tink. Tinker Bell, evidently not aware of the plan previously, let out an ear-piercing ring. Silver didn't respond to these sharp bursts of bells, but Charlene sure did. She only just managed to hide her laughter with a hacking cough.

Finn sent her a quizzical look, which Charlene replied with a look of her own that meant, 'Yeah, what I heard was funny, but you're _so _lucky you didn't hear it.'

"Come on, Tink, just go. We'll get started faster that way." Without even waiting for her response, Silver turned away from the reddish-glowing Tink and faced the DHIs.

"You'll be coming with me to Fantasyland."

"Thanks for all the help, Silver. We owe you one," Amanda shot sarcastically at her before walking away with her sister and the still-fuming Tinker Bell. Silver's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What is their problem?" she muttered softly, running her hand through the silver streak in her hair. The DHIs were silent.

"They think you don't trust all of us because Charlene told them what Tink said two nights ago," Finn finally said quietly. Charlene's eyes went wide and she held in giggles.

"What? Tink never said anything like that," Silver looked from Finn to Charlene in confusion. The other DHIs looked on to the conversation like a three way tennis match: Finn, Charlene, Silver and over again.

"I know," Charlene smirked, tossing her white-blonde hair back behind her shoulder. "But do you really think I'd tell those girls what she actually said?"

Finn laughed in relief. He finally appreciated Charlene's headstrong attitude. Silver smiled slightly and shook her head.

"This is why you five were chosen – and not them," she said knowingly and turned on her heel. "Let me tell you the _real_ Princesses and what you're actually supposed to do."

They made their way to the Cinderella Castle gates and slipped through to the other side. Stopping abruptly and with her back still to them, Silver began to talk.

"Remember this," she whispered, "the Princesses. Alice. Belle. Jasmine. Snow White. Aurora. Cinderella. They each protect a single shard of the Heart of Fate."

"But… that's only six," Charlene said pointedly.

"I know it is."

The air was still and each DHI looked from one to the other uneasily.

"No other information, is there?" Maybeck said knowingly, crossing his arms. Silver didn't respond.

"It's not for me to give," she said finally, choosing her words carefully, "but for you to find out. Not right now though. The last two are much more complicated to… find. After you found the first six then we'll see where you stand."

* * *

Charlene began to laugh.

"You've got to be kidding me!" she cackled between gasps. Silver sighed and stared blankly at the Mad Hatter ride.

"Not kidding. Alice's ribbon is up there," Silver pointed to the center of the tent, where the pole holding it up was placed. "But if you think it's so stupid, you probably couldn't get it anyways. Philby…"

"Hey!" Charlene snapped. "I can so get that! It's easy!"

Silver turned, eyes barely sparkling with a challenge. "Oh, really? Then _prove it_."

Charlene scowled at Silver and leapt over the fence blocking off the ride. Finn had to silently laugh at the way Silver had executed that so perfect and looked at her to speak, but she simply swiftly avoided his gaze and rested her elbows on the railing. She had a blank, longing gleam in her grey eyes as she watched Charlene carefully make her way across the platforms. And somehow Finn knew Silver was not all there tonight.

None of them noticed, however, that the lights indicating the ride's power had just blinked green – meaning that it was on.

"So all I have to do is, uh, climb up there?" Charlene pointed to the center top of the tent. Silver gave a slight grin.

"That's all you have to do."

"Piece of cake," Charlene smirked, hiding the nerves she was so close to showing.

She stepped up on one of the teacups, balancing herself on the rim, getting ready to jump to the ladder six feet above the ground connected to the center column. It was then that the ride started. Charlene cried out and toppled onto the platform face first.

"How am I supposed to get the ribbon now?" Charlene snapped bitterly, her white blonde hair whipping at her face as the wind picked up. "I'll get sick before I get halfway up there!" She threw her arms up in the air angrily as slowly, the ride picked up speed.

"Oy… the cover isn't supposed to be moving!" Philby yelled over the noise, pointing up at the makeshift 'tent' spinning over their heads. Finn furrowed his eyebrows - Philby was right.

"You can't give up now." Silver was barely heard. She hadn't even tried to yell. She didn't even look nervous.

"She'll get hurt!"

"What are you thinking?!"

"There's no way we can continue!"

Silver stayed calm, resting her chin on top of the railing. "It's the Overtakers."

Those few words sent them all into silence. "If we give up now," Silver continued, "it'll just get harder. Charlene must get the ribbon as fast as possible, though, if she doesn't want to get injured. She's got to try again, otherwise that shard of the heart will be lost for good and it'll be worth nothing to keep going. I'm sure none of you want that."

She had them cornered. Slowly, Charlene continued. Tension between the DHIs and Silver increased.

Something in Finn's stomach told him this was not going to turn out well at all. The ride was speeding up above normal speed now and it didn't look particularly friendly. Charlene put her athletic skills to work.

Crouching down low on one tea cup, she aimed for the bottom rung of the latter - and jumped, safely making it. Slowly, she pulled herself up, one bar after the other. They could tell the ride would not decelerate any time soon. Finn cast a glance to Silver. She watched just as closely, but her fingers closed around the bar of the fence and tightened until her knuckles turned white. Finn raised his eyebrows.

She was more afraid than they thought.

"I see it!" Charlene cried out, and Silver bolted upright instantly, shoving her way past Willa to get up to the front.

"Good! Now grab it and get out as soon as you can."

Charlene did just that. She had a hold on the black ribbon and was making her way down the ladder. The second step from the top, however, broke. Charlene screamed and was sent flying backwards onto the spinning platform.

Silver blocked the way to help. "She must do this herself," were her only words even as Maybeck tried to bowl her over. So they could only watch. And from below, a shadow the color of black lights rose from the ground.

"Overtakers," Philby whispered, as if it weren't obvious enough. The blackness crawled over the platform, over the teacups, sucking in everything to oblivion. Silver slammed the top of the gate with a flat palm and muttered something under her breath.

The black had made it to Charlene, still struggling to stand.

"Is nothing easy around here?" Finn muttered so that the rest of the DHIs could hear him. His voice fell on Silver's currently deaf ears.

"What fun would it be?" Philby shot back sarcastically. Finn snorted. He needed to devise a plan to help Charlene - he no longer cared what Silver thought.

"Charlene, you need to move! Just get out!" he yelled, rushing to the gate before Silver could stop him. Charlene bounded up, the ribbon fluttering for escape in her hand, and sprinted toward the edge. The black followed just as quickly and suddenly, Charlene was down again.

The shadow had hooked her ankle and was dragging her back.

"Think Splash Mountain!" Finn yelled, remembering what had happened two months previously. "You're only an image, made of light and--"

A small covered his mouth instantly. Silver's frantic voice hissed in his ear, pulling him back. "Stop it, stop helping her! Because you're yelling, that's how they know we're here!" Silver's hand stayed clasped over Finn's mouth until he ripped himself from her grip.

"Why can't we go out and help then?" Maybeck growled. Silver wiped her hands on her pants and looked back up at him.

Her voice was back to a dead-set monotone, the accent in her voice just tweaking the ends of her words. "They can tell from your weight on the ride, too. They've got monitors, spies everywhere. They're becoming more powerful as we speak. And if you don't care if we're caught, I don't either."

"Hello?! I'm still out here!"

Charlene had somehow kept up with the rotating ride and had escaped from the black entity. Maybeck and Willa rushed to take her hands and pull her off the ride. Silver was no longer looking at the struggling DHIs, but at the ride.

It was gone. The tent cover, the teacups… just gone. And the shadow that had kept a hold on Charlene was gone with it.

Charlene fell onto the pavement, black velvet ribbon clutched in her hands. Silver watched with a wide-eyed, shocked expression as they helped Charlene back up. Finn, after making sure Charlene was going to be okay, glared at Silver long and hard. She still held that shocked look on her face and she shied away from Finn's stare. This time, he sent her a message through the connection she shared with all the holograms.

_It's your fault. And you know it. Now do something about it._

Her expression returned emotionless. Finn thought he saw fleeting pain pass over her features, but if it was ever there, it was gone before anyone else could see. Finn could still see that the anger that she showed before wasn't going to be shaken off easily.

"Charlene… I apologize. I didn't expect that to happen. But you're okay and we have the first shard of the Heart."

Silver's voice was kind and soft, but she had hidden the coldness and bitterness badly in her tone. She didn't look sorry in the least… but more scared. She bent next to Charlene and held her palm out to take the ribbon. Charlene looked up at her with hard, stony eyes and slapped the ribbon into her palm. The bangles on her arm shook, but Silver stood and turned away.

"Tink sent Amanda and Jess home already. I will see you tomorrow in Hollywood-MGM Studios in 'The Magic of Disney Animation.' Goodbye."

Silver already had the button in her barely-shaking hands and pressed it. No one had any time to respond. But something different happened this time when Silver pressed the button. A vice-like grip held onto Finn's arm, electrifying him almost, as Silver turned her back to leave. The other DHIs had already disappeared, each one waking up in their beds in only a few moments.

Something dragged Finn back and he heard a whisper in his ear.

"We need your help."

* * *

**A/N: Please review!**


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